Sunday, 27 April 2014

The Trinidad Contingent of the West India Regiment in World War I, serving in Egypt and Palestine

Lieut.-Col. Harragin

Lance-Cpl. Julien

Lieutenant Colonel Harragin and Lance-Corporal Julien

Lieutenant Colonel Harragin joined the Police Force (then Constabulary) on 1st February, 1905, as a Sub-Inspector and rose to the rank of Deputy Inspector-General on 5th September, 1936. Colonel Harragin left the colony on 5th August, 1915, with the first battalion of the B.W.I. Regiment to serve in the Great War, in which he and his battalion distinguished themselves against the Turks in the charge on the Damieh Bridgehead in the Jordan Valley, Palestine. The charge drove the enemy from his entrenched positions, the B.W.I. Regiment capturing 200 prisoners and seven machine guns with one killed and some wounded. Colonel Harragin was awarded the D.S.O. as a direct result.

Amongst those who saw action in the Jordan valley that day was Lance-Corporal Julien, a former Policeman as well, who received the D.C.M. for valourious service.

On his return to Trinidad, Colonel Harragin took up his regular duties in the Police Force. Lieutenant Colonel Harragin and Sergeant Julien were two of many Police officers and Constables who saw action in both the First and Second World Wars and served with valour and distinction.

Capt A.A. Cipriani

DAMIEH

Captain A. A. Cipriani

It was on the historic Jordan that the little band of West Indians was destined to cover itself with glory. ‘Damieh’—the name that will be always nearest the heart—here it was that we put paid to the Turks and gave the lie to our detractors who said that our men would not stand up under fire. The Battalion, supported by the Auckland Rifles, went into action in artillery formation with the same calm as if they had been on ordinary parade, and in spite of being subjected to heavy fire in the early stages of the advance, never faltered for a single moment, seemingly heedless of the enemy’s fire.

This steady advance rather ‘put the wind up’ the already demoralised Turk, who nothing loath, cut sticks very speedily. Driven from Chalk and Barka Hills he made for the Damieh bridgehead where he came foul of the 1st Batt. Lewis-gunners, who opened such a terrific fire that not a single Turk succeeded in crossing. Failing in this, the Turks made their last turn for the Es Salt Hills, the battle resolving itself into a chase.

Earlier in the day, part of the 1st, under Major Harragin, charged up the Damieh hillsides, driving ‘Johnnie’ from his entrenched position and capturing 200 prisoners and 7 machine-guns, with one killed and six wounded. The 2nd Battalion had 6 killed and 40 wounded in the assault on the Chalk and Barka Hills.

The Turkish army was now in full flight, making their way home up the Es Salt Hills 3,000 feet up and over goat tracks. Our men, flushed with victory, followed without any rest, with little food and water, in the hope of coming up with them again at Amman, where the Divisional Commander had promised them another scrap. After a few hours’ rest, a forced march through the night brought them to Amman just too late, as our friends the Anzacs had already captured the village.

From this point onward there was no further use for infantry, and the little Regiment that had acquitted itself so well at the first time of asking were thereby deprived of any other chance of showing their mettle. To add insult to injury, our tired and disappointed chaps were ordered back to Jericho to refit, and the march back was left to the Second-in-Command, a Major Bensley, a rare old ‘fuss-pot’, very intelligent and learned but without an ounce of ordinary horse sense. The men were marched nearly the whole of the next day, without a halt, through a blinding, suffocating dust, and a temperature well nigh 100% in the shade.

Already the effects of that terrible malaria which claimed such a toll from the British forces in Palestine had begun to be felt in the Regiment, and officers and men fell by the road-side like flies. Many who had escaped the Turkish bullets two days previously were now being flurried through Clearing Stations to the nearest hospitals, where a great many paid the supreme sacrifice. Of 2,300 men and 40 officers who took the field on that October morning only 500 returned to Jericho. Nearly 90% had contracted pernicious malaria, and up to this day a great many are suffering from its effects.

The work of the B.W.I. Regiment was a revelation to G.H.Q., who were not slow to mark their appreciation. On the day following the battle General Allenby called in person on our wounded in the hospital at Jerusalem and thanked them for their good work. Recognition from the great soldier in person was a very great compliment, and one which will always be remembered by officers and men.

Major Harragin was awarded the D.S.O., Captain Craig the M.C., Major Thomas bar to the M.C., Sergeant Julien the D.C.M.

Apart from those mentioned in despatches, Lieuts. Knaggs, Perkins and Boyd did specially good work and were unlucky not to score a ribbon.

The following was issued to all units:—

“I desire to convey to all ranks and all arms of the force under my command my admiration and thanks for their great deeds of the past week, and my appreciation of their gallantry and determination, which have resulted in the total destruction of the 7th and 8th Turkish Armies opposed to us.

Such a complete victory has seldom been known in all the history of war.”

EDMOND ALLENBY,

General.

C.-I.-C.

BWI Troops Palestine; RSM P Flynn with foot on wheel

BWI Troops outside Church Palestine 1914-1918

BWI Troops Palestine 1914-1918

The Sergeants of the British West India Regiment in Palestine, First World War

(four photographs courtesy Paul Ironside)

Postcards from Trinidadian Soldiers in World War I

Trinidadian Officers of the 8th W.I. Regiment stationed in Italy in 1914–1918

Your notice in The Times asking Colonials who wish to join the Colours to write to you or to apply in person at the White City has attracted my attention. And there are many men of good physique and education in the Colony, and throughout the West Indies, who are eager and who will be proud to enlist. I called on Saturday last, the 24th instant, asking if you will accept a contingent from this place. l am awaiting your reply. It is necessary that I should fully explain the object of my cable and facts as they are in these parts.

Trinidad is an island, the most southern of the British West Indies; a reference to a map will show they are like stepping stones in the Caribbean. The population throughout is very mixed—white, black and all shades, from the weakest cafe-au-lait to the strongest black, East Indians, Chinese, etc.

Those willing to enlist are of the better class and educated. The cables and papers are read with avidity by them, and so far as West Indians are concerned, the addresses of Lord Kitchener, Messrs. Asquith, Churchill and Lloyd George will not be in vain if their respective local legislatures will but vote the pittance needed to get the men to the Old Country.

We are four thousand and some odd miles from the Old Country and the lowest fare is £17.10. A few men have left, and a few more are leaving on their own, but the majority cannot afford it.

I have little doubt that if the services of our men will be accepted by the War Office, our local Government, or public will see that they are sent to the Old Country.

West Indians have realised that it is a fight to a finish, that not only is the existence of the Mother Country at stake, but the very Empire, of which we are all proud to be apart. We should feel not only isolated, but slighted, if our services are declined when men are still wanted to keep the flag flying. In this Colony, at least 500 men between the ages of 20 and 40 can be mustered within a few days; men of education and good physique, and I have no doubt 4,000 similar men can be mustered throughout the West Indies in a short time. All we need is just the consent ‘Come along.’

In Major de Boissière, who was one of the contingent at the Diamond Jubilee of the late Queen Victoria and the late King Edward’s Coronation, and who has acted as A.D.C. to Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, we have a man who commands a following of all classes and colours. He has volunteered for service, but for some reason our Government will not grant him leave of absence. Our men are of no earthly use in these parts, as invasion is most improbable. Transatlantic Zeppelin flight has not yet been dreamt of and the enemy has no available transport, as their nearest possession is in Africa. We are bottled up here, but we are eager to get out to assist the Mother Country. If you would use your influence in getting our little lot taken into service, this Colony, and the West Indies, will be deeply grateful.

I beg to remain,

Faithfully yours,

ARTHUR A. CIPRIANI.

List of some young women from Trinidad and Tobago serving abroad during the First World War

The following are but a few of the many representing Trinidad who were employed in the Great War:

ALSTON, MILDRED —Refreshment Branch, War Work (Now Mrs. Martin).

ALSTON, WINIFRED —Red Cross Nurse.

ATKINSON, HAZEL —Ambulance Work, France.

ATKINSON, MAUD.

AUSTIN, MARIE ESTELLE BRUCE —Admiralty Office.

BRODIE, ALICE MAY —Red Cross Nurse.

GOODEN-CHISHOLM, MAIRI —Associate of the Baronness de T’serclases in the work of rendering First Aid to the wounded at Pervyse, and succouring Belgian soldiers in the trenches under shell fire.

ALBERT, PIERRE-CHARLES —Corpl. to the 11th Regt. of Foot Artillery. Trans. to 75th Regiment, and was in many battles on the Western front. In action at Verdun, and Fleury. Was GASSED once. Honoured as Marechal de Logis. Returned to Trinidad 28th February, 1919.

ALBERT, VICTOR-HUGHES —Pte. to the 166th Regt. of Infantry.

CARLIN, DURAND —Pte. to the 144th Regt. of Infanry. COLONNA, JEAN-MARIE —Pte. to the 7th Regt. of Artillery.

QUESNEL, ANDRÉ-ROBERT-MARIE-ALFRED —Quarter Master Interpreter in the British Army.-Awarded British Military Medal.

QUESNEL, MAURICE-ROBERT-HENRI-GEORGES —Interpreter in the British Army.

ROLLIN, PIERRE —Pte. to the 99th Regt. of Infantry. (War Cross).

SAULNY, EUGENE —Pte. 23rd section of the Medical Corps.

SOTER, CEUEN-FLORIUS —Pte. to the 129th Regiment of Infantry.

Taken from a publication that gave the ‘List of Public Contingents from Trinidad’. This material was made available to us by Gregor Duruty.

List of Silver War Badges awarded to Trinidadians serving in World War I

Presented to the following Returned N.C.O.’s and Men of the British West Indies Regiment, at the Queen’s Park Savannah, on Saturday 19th October, 1918, by the Commandant of the Local Forces, the Hon. Colonel G.H. May; V.D. (in the unavoidable absence of His Excellency, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief).

Returned to Trinidad 3/11/1915. Ex. R.M.S. ‘Magdalena’

COLLINS, V.

Returned to Trinidad, 5/5/1916. Ex. S.S. ‘Siena’

MAUGE O.

CLEMENTS W.J.

Returned to Trinidad 26/8/1916. Ex S.S. ‘Europa’

BOUCAUD, J.

CALLAN, SILENCE,

CASIMIR, P.

COZIER, R.T.H.

DONAWA, R.

GABRIEL, U.

HENLEY, H.A.-Sergt.

MARK, WA.

MARQUES, L.

MOORE, J.B.

RICHARDSON, J.

TOTA.

Returned to Trinidad 22/9/1916

Ex. R.M.S. ‘Chaudiere’

BARTHOLOMEW, W.

BLENMAN, H.

CARTER, D.

DARMANIE, E.

HENRY, R.N.

HUSBANDS, H.

JOHNSON, S.

PAUL, W.

PAYNE, J.

PERKINS, MB.

PHILLIP, N.

PROVIDENCE, J.

ROBERTSON, F.W.

ST. CL&IR, McKAY

STANFORD, R.A.

TORAILLE, F.C.

WEEKES, D.

Returned to Trinidad, 8/12/1916. Ex. R.M.S. ‘Magdalena’

AKIE, H.

CLARKE, J.-Corporal

CUFFIE, JA.

DE SILVA, R.

DOTTIN, A. MCD.

LING, P-Lance-Corporal

MATHEW, T.

OXLEY, J.

PARKER, J.B.

PHILLIPS, 0.

STEWART, A.

WATSON, CL-Lance —Corporal

Returned to Trinidad, 3/7/1917. Ex. R.M.S. ‘Magdalena

ALEXANDER, H.C.

CALLENDER, C.

COLLYMORE, R.

LYNCH R.

MILLINGTRON, J.

VANDERPOOL, A.

Returned to Trinidad, 4/12/1917. Ex. R.M.S. ‘Magdalena

BENN, J.

CLARKE, C.

IA CAILLE, J.

LEWIS, H.

STIRLING, P.

GUMBS, J.

First Trinidad Contingent British West Indies Regiment Officers, World War I

Trinidadians flock to enlist at the start of the First World War. This photograph was taken in front of the Town Hall on Knox Street, Port of Spain, by Gregor Duruty in 1914.

Major [Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel] Arneaud de Boissière, British West Indies Regiment

Maj. [T./Lt:Col.] Arneaud de Boissière

Mention in a Despatch of Maj. (T./Lt:Col.] W.H.A. de Boissière, 8th Bn., signed by Winston Churchill

A letter of farewell to Arneaud de Boissière from the villagers of Boissière Village, Maraval, Trinidad, a village on the de Boissière estate of Champs Elysées (1917)

The signatories of Boissière Village: Peter Lalbiharie, S.E.V. Madhoo (soldier), Gregson E. de Silva (soldier), Alfred Uriah (soldier), Felix Stewardt, Alexander Nancoo, Valleton Went (soldier), Simon Jack (soldier), Joseph Alphonse (soldier) and Allan Hinkson. (The soldiers would have been members of one of the earlier British West Indian Regiments, and might have seen service in the Boer War or in the Gambia.)

A letter of welcome to Arneaud de Boissière from the Immigration Department upon his return from serving in World War I in 1919. Identifiable signatories: ..., Cadiz, Lohun, Lohun

Lance Corporal McCollin Leekam of Trinidad is awarded his medal in 1918 by Major General Sir E.W.C Chaytor (Photo: Clint Grant)

Lance Corporal T.M. Leekam, along with other volunteers of St. Mary's College, as depicted in the C.I.C. Annual 1919 "War Memorial Number", St. Mary's College of the Immaculate Conception, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

Men from Trinidad who served in the Royal Air Force during World War I

In January 1913, the intrepid American aviator Frank Boland
and a party of four arrived in Trinidad and brought the world of aviation to
the tranquil skies of the British Colony. Since the Wright Brothers' first
flight on 17th December 1903, local newspapers had carried headline stories
about Man's early flying machines and according to some, the "crazy"
characters who flew them. Early aviation had its critics as well as its
admirers, but to the people of Trinidad, it had all seemed very far away, until
Boland arrived. Since September 1912, the group had been performing exhibitions
and demonstration flights on a fund raising tour through Venezuela, Colombia
and Costa Rica, and in Trinidad, which was to be their last stop, they had
scheduled a public performance for January 25th. Economically, the colony was
enjoying a boom period. Cocoa was at its peak, the sugar industry was stable
and there was a burgeoning oil industry. From a financial point of view, the
colony was a good place to stop.

Frank was one of a trio of Boland brothers who, like the
Wright brothers, had started in the bicycle business and progressed to the
world of aviation and its flying machines. Unable to copy the Wright Flyer
because of patents on the control surfaces, the Bolands had invented an
entirely new method of control, known as the JIB. The original idea dispensed
with rudders, ailerons and wing warping and instead relied on two triangular
jibs mounted between the outer ends of the biplane's wings. These control
surfaces were very unorthodox, but in the opinion of Wilbur Wright who
witnessed a demonstration, highly efficient. In fact he said that he had never
seen an aeroplane turn in a smaller circle than the Boland Machine.

When the Bolands arrived in Trinidad they learned that the
Governor of Trinidad George Le Hunte could not be present for the planned
demonstration on the 25th, and Boland decided to give a special flying display
on the 23rd. Amid deafening cheers, the Boland biplane was rolled out of a
small tent that had been set up to the east of the Grand Stand in the Savannah.
Within view of a large crowd the flying machine was made ready for flight. The
first of those magnificent men in their flying machines was about to perform in
Trinidad. With the good wishes of the crowd, Boland took off on the first
flight from Trinidad soil.

It is probable that no Trinidadian had ever seen an
aeroplane before and the excitement at the Savannah as Boland soared upwards
was at fever pitch, but alas, tragedy soon struck. He was coming in to land
near the area known as the Hollows, in front of Stollmeyer's Castle, when the
biplane went out of control and dived into the ground, throwing Boland out of
the pilot's seat. The ribs on his left side pierced his heart and he died
instantly. The shock of the tragedy numbed the watching crowd and ended the
previously triumphant first tour of the Caribbean and South America. According
to a report in the Port of Spain Gazette of 24th January 1913, "the Very
Reverend Father Sutherland O.P. said the last offices for the dead, the
deceased being a Catholic". Boland's body was taken from the Colonial
Hospital to the Church of the Holy Rosary and then interred at the Lapey- rouse
Cemetery. It is said that the body was later exhumed and shipped to the United
States to his hometown for burial at the St. Mary's Cemetery, Rahay. But his
two brothers did not give up. The Bolands remained active in aviation well into
the Second World War.

These early aviators were all hard put to finance their
experiments and were forced to rely on demonstrations and appearances at fairs
to generate capital. The early bicycle type aeroplanes were almost impossible
to fly in winter conditions, with the result that the aviators looked to
appearances in sunny climes to carry them through the North American non-flying
season. Thus within a month of Boland's death, another intrepid aviator was in
Trinidad.

George Schmidt was the American born son of a German
immigrant, who had virtually taught himself to fly. His party had left New York
in November, 1912 and progressed through the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Colombia and
finally arrived in Trinidad in February, 1913. His previous demonstrations in a
Baldwin biplane christened "Red Devil", received considerable publicity
and special trains were laid on for the thousands who were expected to flock to
the city to witness the grand attempt.

On the morning of 26th February 1913, Schmidt lifted the
"Red Devil" off the ground, from the area in front of the Queen's
Park Hotel. Thousands of people witnessed the event and shouted themselves
hoarse, encouraging Schmidt and his magnificent flying machine. It is reported
that he reached a height of 914.6 metres (about three thousand feet) during the
flight and demonstrated his masterful control of the machine. Schmidt safely
landed the "Red Devil" after his flight and was carried shoulder high
into the Queen's Park Hotel, where a champagne reception awaited him.

The flight of the "Red Devil" fired the
imagination of the crowd, particularly some of the young boys who witnessed it
and this was to influence a number of them to become Trinidad and Tobago's
aerial pioneers. Two boys named *Horace Bowen and *Claude Vincent were among
the thousands who witnessed that day's event. Another was a young Lieutenant of
the Trinidad Volunteers named Eric Hobson, who was acting as ADC to the
Governor. He witnessed both Boland's attempt and Schmidt's flight and it shaped
his life.

The "Red Devil" was kept in an enclosed area in
front of the Queen's Park Hotel and an admission fee of one shilling was
charged for those who wished to view the flying machine. When maintenance and
repair work became necessary, local engineer Jose' Geronimo Solis assisted
Schmidt in preparing the These men are also covered in Chapter 2 - pg. 19.
airplane for flight. Solis had never seen a flying machine before but
diligently applied his mechanical skills to assist the intrepid flier. Solis's
young brother Felix, was also present and he like dozens of others was bitten by
the flying bug. His chance was to come during the Great War.

Just over a year later, in 1914, Archduke Ferdinand, heir to
the Austro Hungarian Empire and his wife were assassinated, while they toured
Serbia. Political tensions had been building in Europe for years and the double
killings triggered off the First World War. With the outbreak of war in 1914
the Trinidad Colonial government received emergency powers, which gave it the
authority to suppress any social and political activity which it perceived as
subversive. The Trinidad Workingmen's Association for example, was one
organisation whose activities were seen as such. This incipient trade union -
formed in 1897 - sought to represent workers and address con- temporary social
issues. They also agitated for constitutional reform to the system of Crown
Colony Government. However, many of Trinidad and Toba- go's young men
demonstrated their allegiance to Britain by immediately setting sail for
England to join the armed forces of the British Empire. It was not too long
before the first of these progressed to the world of aviation, where their
super co-ordination marked them out as excellent aviators, lighting a spark
that glows brightly to this day.

The first of Trinidad's intrepid aviators was Charles M. Pickthorne
from Tobago. On 30th March 1916 he transferred from the British army to the
fledgeling Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and was appointed as an Observer with No. 8
squadron. His squadron operated over the Somme battlefield in the summer of
that year flying the BE2c reconnaissance planes. He later qualified as a pilot
and achieved fame when in March, 1917 he shot down the German ace Prince
Frederick Karl of Prussia. At the time, he was flying an antiquated stringbag
of an aeroplane called a DH2, in use with No. 32 fighter squadron. He received
the Military Cross (MC) in April 1917 and by the end of the war he was in command
of the crack No. 84 squadron, generally acknowledged to be one of the best such
units in 1918.

While Pickthorne was airborne in the back seat of the BE2c
over the Somme, Edmund Lickfold, another local boy, was also airborne as an
Observer with No. 26 RFC squadron.

Edmund Richard "Er!" Lickfold was born in Sangre
Grande in 1898 to English parents. As a boy he was a loner and had a very independent
spirit which was fostered by his upbringing. So when at the age of seventeen he
wanted to enlist in the British West Indies (BWI) Regiment to fight in the
First World War, the only condition that his parents imposed before he received
their consent was that he pass his Matriculation examinations. Lickfold easily
accomplished this task and left Trinidad on the 16th September 1915 for
England. During his tour of duty with the BWI Regiment he was stationed in
Egypt and whilst there, he transferred to the newly formed Royal Flying Corps
(RFC) where he went on to attain the rank of Captain. He operated the BE2c type
aircraft over the East African "bush" hunting the German columns led
by that redoubtable warrior Von Letow-Vorbeck. Lickfold also later qualified as
a flying instructor at Abu Sueir in Egypt and went on to achieve fame as an
outstanding aerobatic pilot when he served with No. 150 squadron in Turkey. He
later played a significant role as a pioneer of aviation in Trinidad.

While both Pickthorne and Lickfold were airborne as
Observers in 1916, the first Trinidad and Tobago airman to qualify as a pilot
took to the air. Horace Bowen, a former Queen's Royal College (QRC) boy from
Port of Spain, began his pilot training in the antiquated Farman Long Horn
training aircraft during May 1916. He received a posting as a combat pilot to
No. 7 squadron in France on 7th July, 1916. As the captain of a BE2c, he
carried out reconnaissance missions over the Somme.

Later that year, he was posted as a Staff Officer to the
headquarters of the Royal Flying Corps. He ended the war as a Flight Commander
with No. 105 squadron, flying the DH9 bomber.

At virtually the same time as Bowen, Frank Graham McIntosh,
another QRC old boy from Port of Spain, qualified as a pilot. He was appointed
to No. 23 squadron on 24th July, 1916, flying an FE2b bomber against tactical
targets on the Somme. His flying career was cut short on 31st August of that
year when flying the aircraft purchased by the people of the island of Dominica
- he was shot down and seriously wounded by anti-aircraft fire. Both he and his
observer were so badly wounded that the Germans repatriated them back to
England, where McIntosh although unable to fly, rejoined his old squadron as
adjutant.

While the Great War for Civilisation (as it came to be
called) raged in Europe, Asia and Africa, the people of Trinidad and Tobago
were fired with the concept of early aviation to the extent that they agreed to
fund the purchase of an aircraft for the RFC. A series of fund-raising events
brought in enough money for the first such machine to be purchased. A BE2c,
serial number A3096 was emblazoned with the name "Trinidad and Tobago Aeroplane",
and was flown by the RFC in India throughout the war. The second aircraft
purchased by the people of the island was an FE2b bomber, which carried the
word "Trinidad" on either side of the cockpit, and was flown by No.
18 squadron until 16th July, 1916 when it was lost in *no man's land.

The Trinidad Chamber of Commerce also purchased an aeroplane
for the RFC. The first was an FE2b bomber flown by No. 25 squadron until March,
1916 when it was replaced by a similar type aircraft, with the same squadron,
until September of that year. The replacement machine was an RE8, which carried
the name of the Chamber of Commerce. This was followed by three replacement
machines of the same type until 1919. Thus throughout the aerial battles of the
Great War, there were always aircraft with the name Trinidad and Tobago
emblazoned on them, and they were sometimes also flown by four pilots of
Trinidad and Tobago.

On
2nd January, 1918 an eighteen year old San Fernando boy became the first
Trinidadian to be killed in an aircraft crash. Frank Vernon Bonyon qualified as
a pilot in June, 1917 and was posted to No. 32 squadron in France during
November of that year. He was flying the notoriously unstable DH5 fighter on a
ground attack mission over Flanders, when the aircraft hit the ground in thick
fog. He died

*no man's land - please see glossary of terms.

shortly after being pulled from the wreckage of his
aircraft.

While Bonyon flew his ground attack missions, Trinidad and
Tobago's premier fighter pilot was convalescing from wounds received in air
combat. Kenneth John Knaggs, another QRC old boy, had joined the RFC in August,
1916, and after his pilot training, was selected and became an outstanding
fighter pilot of what became known as the anti- Richthofen squadron, flying
alongside such greats as

*Albert Ball, *Rhys-Davids, *Maxwell and *Cecil Lewis. In
his SE5 fighter, Knaggs became one of a very select band of international
fighter pilots, who manage to make a kill on their first operational mission.
On his first flight during a major offensive in April 1917, he shot down a
green painted Alba- tross fighter, over the French village of Fresnoy. The
April 17th offensive which was a major achievement for the Allies was known as
Bloody April, because one third of all the airmen involved died.

*Captain Albert Ball, VC, DSO and Bar MC, was the first
British fighter pilot to be acknowledged as an Ace. He first flew in February
1916 and when he was killed in May 1917, he had achieved forty-seven kills.

*Cecil Lewis along with Ball and Knaggs was one of the original
pilots of No. 56 squadron. He later went on to become a founder member of the
BBC, a prominent broadcaster, playwright and distinguished author.

'Rhys-Davids was another outstanding fighter pilot of No. 56
squadron who achieved twenty-two kills before he was killed in October 1917.

*Maxwell was another outstanding fighter pilot who flew in
the same flight as Ball and Knaggs. Together with Knaggs, he also achieved a
kill on his first operational flight. He was killed in May 1918.

Knaggs also took part in the first ever large-scale aerial
dogfight on 7th May, 1917 when No. 56 squadron tangled with the Richthofen
flying circus on its first appearance. That evening he was flying as Albert
Ball's wingman and was present when the great English ace met his death. Knaggs
was one of only five survivors from No. 56 squadron, who managed to get their
bullet-ridden "mounts" home to the squadron base at Vert Galant farm.
In June, Knaggs was seriously wounded in air combat and sent to hospital in
England. On his recovery, he was posted as a Test Pilot, but the lure of aerial
combat was too strong and he managed to get himself posted back to his old
squadron. He died in March 1918, during the great German offensive. He was
valiantly attacking a pair of heavily armed and armoured German two seaters,
when the main spar of his fighter was cut through by machine-gun fire. His
aircraft's wings collapsed and the machine dived into the ground near the
French village of Hamel.

All told, eighty-four Trinidad and Tobago men became
involved in the world of aviation during the Great War. The war had spurred on
the rapid development of aviation. Gone were the days when there was a season
for flying. These daring young aviators flew in their long leather coats,
leather helmets, fur lined jackets and gloves, with only a pair of goggles to protect
them in their open cockpits.

They flew in the heat and dust of India, through the deserts
of Arabia, to the snow covered peaks of Scotland and the Alps, and lived in the
mud of Flanders. They survived in aviation's unreliable early machines and some
died, that others might live.

The natural flying ability of the men from our islands
ensured that they served on every front:- Phillip Cummings from Tobago,
received a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for completing one hundred night
bomber missions behind enemy lines; Lindsay Grant* flew bombers in the Middle
East; Desmond Pogson won his DFC for bringing home a fleet of aircraft on No.
104 squadron, in the face of a massive attack by the pilots of Richthofen's
flying circus; Rupert Dunn became this country's first naval pilot; Gervais
Scott was the first of many Trinidad and Tobago fighter pilots to serve at the
famous Biggin Hill Fighter Station; John Bushe was shot down on a night bombing
mission and captured; Percy J. Knox became a flight instructor and went on to
qualify as an instructor for instructors at the School of Special Flying in Gosport,
England; William Dickson was the country's first aviation technical sergeant;
Alfred Home became an air mechanic and observer; and a host of other names of
very special aviators.

The First World War saw great technological advances made in
the design and manufacture of aeroplanes, and the aircraft that were being
flown at the end of the conflict, bore little resemblence to Schmidt's
"Red Devil". The only aspect of aviation that remained the same was
the spirit of the aviators, they were still all pioneers. Once the war ended,
the Royal Air Force (RAF) proceeded with massive demobilisation, cutting its
manpower to a fraction of wartime levels and getting rid of most of its
aircraft.

The majority of the Trinidad and Tobago nationals found
themselves out of the military and out of (later to become Sir Lindsay Grant
who is still alive in Trinidad today.) observer, repaired the engine. By the
time they had got the engine working and managed to take off, the rest of the
squadron had disappeared and they found themselves alone over the vast open
desert. Making his way back home, Hobson flew over a camouflaged encampment,
which he identified as the elusive stronghold of the "Mad Mullah". On
the following day, he led his squadron out on a bombing mission that destroyed
the desert stronghold. The "Mad Mullah" was forced to flee to Italian
Somaliland, and by this time his following had been reduced to just four
bodyguards, one of whom subsequently murdered him. The raid that Hobson led,
ended a twenty year old war that had been characterised by murder and slavery.
Eric Hobson received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his pivotal role in the
proceedings.

The last of the four was Claude Vincent. His flying career
began in January 1918, when Edmund Lickfold was his flight instructor. After
qualifying, he was appointed as personal pilot to Lawrence of Arabia, and flew
the great man around the Arabian Desert on his travels and combats. After the war, Vincent was
appointed to No. 31 squadron serving in India, where he became involved in the
Third Afghan War. He was shot down in the wild Afghan mountains while flying a Sopwith
Snipe and captured by the rebels. He became one of very few contemporary
individuals who survived such an experience and was subsequently ransomed by
the RAF. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and went on to further
combat in Wasiristan during 1922, for which, he received a Bar to his DFC. His
next appointment was as a Test Pilot at the Royal Aero Establishment, where he
was involved in pushing the frontiers of aviation outwards. Vincent was
destined to become one of Trinidad and Tobago's most decorated fliers.

These three aviators,
Bowen, Hobson and Vincent were to leave an indelible mark on the world of
aviation, in the period when it seemed as if aeroplanes would never again come
to Trinidad.

An Episode in the last German Onslaught, May 1918, Trooper Brian O'Connor, King Edward's Horse

Anzacs in Trinidad en route to the front (December 1917)

The Return to Trinidad of 400 men of the BWI Regiment under Lt.-Col. Max Smith (26 May, 1919)

Two of several barges carrying the returning men from the troop ship anchored in the stream to the Port of Spain Jetty.

Soldiers disembarking at the Port of Spain Jetty.

The crowd looking at the soldiers disembarking.

One of several triumphant arches erected to welcome home the soldiers.

Soldiers drawn up to march from the Waterfront.

Message from HM King George V posted at the close of the First World War.

A float depicting the dove of peace on Peace Day, 19 July, 1919.

Triumphant Arch at the top of Broadway and Marine Square (now Independence Square)

Soldiers en masse marching up Frederick Street are welcomed and joined by relatives and friends.

Triumphant arch at the top of Frederick Street at the entrance of the Savannah.

Governor Lt.-Col. Sir John Chancellor raises his hat to the playing of the National Anthem, Queen's Park Savannah

Troops passing in review in the Queen's Park Savannah.

Landing party from H.M.S. Calcutta during the labour disturbances, 1919

The Cenotaph in Port of Spain

The Memorial Park in Port of Spain honours the memory of those Trinidadians and Tobagonians who served in the armed forces of the Empire, and remembers those who fell in its defense in two world wars.

Erected in the 1920, the cenotaph (from the Greek kenotaphion: kenos, empty + taphos, tomb, a monument for people who are buried elsewhere) is topped by Nike, the winged goddess of victory, with one foot placed upon the globe. In her left hand, held high, is the victor’s wreath of laurel, in her right, an acacia branch for the honoured dead. The obelisk itself rises out of a barque, symbolizing that which takes the souls of the departed across the river Styx. In bow and stern sit the figures Pathos and Grief. Grief bends her head to look at a scroll unrolled upon her knees, and Pathos in the bow holds a funerary wreath.

Above the inscription which reads “In honour of those who served, in memory of those who fell” stands a soldier, rifle at the ready, astride a fallen, wounded comrade. The brass plaques list the names of some 170 Trinidadians and Tobagonians who died in the First and Second World Wars.

In the First World War, Trinidadians served with valour. Fifty-five silver war medals were awarded. In one engagement in Palestine’s Jordan valley, one Distinguished Service Order, two Military Crosses and one Distinguished Conduct Medal were won by members of the First Battalion. Dozens of Trinidadians distinguished themselves in the defense of freedom. To name two: Air Vice Marshall Claude Vincent, who became one of the highest-ranking officers of the Royal Air Force, and General Sir Frank Messervy, who commanded the Fourth Army Corps and the Seventh Indian Division in Burma. He received the surrender of the Japanese forces there, when General Itaguki handed over his sword and the one hundred thousand men under his command in Rangoon in 1945.

His Worship, the Mayor of Port of Spain, the Honourable Gaston Johnson, having laid a wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph.